Flesh
by fanfictionmakermachine
Summary: One year after the disappearance of Hannah and Beth, the group comes together for another winter weekend getaway. All of them have tried to put the past behind themselves, but what they didn't expect was that they will be forced to face the past in a way they would have never imagined. A REWRITE OF MY UNTIL DAWN FIC.
1. Prologue: O, death

**AN: Hello, everyone! I have decided to rewrite my Until Dawn fic, because I realized there was something I should have done differently. In doing so, I've also fixed some small grammatical errors and tried to make this story flow better and I must say I am much happier with this version. Please enjoy!**

 **Again, this is a rewrite of the plot of the game, which I've been pretty disappointed with, so here's my version. AU: No Wendigos and No Stranger.**

 **Prologue: O, death**

 _O death, o death Won't you spare me over till another year?_

They say time heals all wounds. That as you go on, you will learn to move on. That eventually it will get easier. Well, in Samantha Giddings' opinion, either not enough time have passed for her or this was simply a load of bullshit. Because as the bus she was traveling in neared it's destination of Blackwood Pines, she certainly knew that it wasn't getting any easier for her. In fact, it was actually getting harder.

It has been a year since that fateful night. The night when they last saw the Washington twins, Hannah and Beth, after Hannah had ran away from the Washington Lodge after a cruel prank had gone awfully wrong and her sister Beth had went after her, but they never came back. The police and the Blackwood rangers have been seaeching for them tirelessly for over a month, but eventually, the investigation was fruitless. They found absolutely no traces of either of them.

 _Well, what is this, that I can't see,_  
 _With ice cold hands taking hold of me._  
 _When God is gone and the devil takes hold,_  
 _Who'll have mercy on my soul?_

Their disappearance have shocked all of them. Of course, none of them has taken it as bad as the twins' brother, Josh. He always had problems and her sisters were always there for him in his hard times. With them gone, everybody was worrying that Josh's already fragile mental health would crumble. Especially Sam. She remembered how terrible Josh looked during the one year that passed since the incident. He really had a hard time processing that Hannah and Beth were gone and most likely dead. But thankfully, he seemed to be getting better as of late. It had helped a lot that Sam and Josh's best friend, Chris had been there for him the whole time.

The other member of the group who the events had crushed was Ashley Brown. She was always a very nice girl and when Sam heard that she was in on the prank, she couldn't believe it. It was very unlike her to partake in something like that. She was never as close to the twins as Sam, but still she would have never expected this from her. Unlike the others who took part in the prank, who have mostly gotten over it, - at least, apparently - Ashley was so racked with guilt that she had become an emotional wreck. None of her friends had seen much of her during the past one year, but when they did, they could tell she wasn't doing very well. Sam was glad to know that at least she and Josh weren't the only ones. Hannah was her best friend. Maybe that was the reason she and Josh could relate to each other so much during last year.

 _O, death, o, death, consider my age._  
 _Please don't take me at this stage._  
 _O, death, o death._  
 _Won't you spare me over till another year?_

Sam was currently flipping through the radio channels on her smart phone to kill the short amount of time left until the bus reached the Blackwood station. She was a little shocked to hear that she managed to find one where the topic was exactly what she couldn't stop wondering about for this whole journey.

 _'Oh, the irony.'_ she thought bitterly.

"Today marks the one year anniversary of the dreadful tragedy that took place on Mount Washington." said the host of the show. "The disappearance of twins, Hannah and Beth Washington who are still missing today have shocked the entire country." Sam felt like she got kicked in the chest when she thought about having to hear about this again, but for some reason, she couldn't stop herself from listening.

"We have Officer Annie Clyne with us today, who was in charge of the investiation."

"Thanks for having me, Marty." the officer spoke. "One year ago the Washington girls have left the safety of their parents' lodge and headed out into a snowstorm. Despite the thorough searches of dozens of our officers and volunteers, the investigation ended up dry and the fate of Hannah and Beth remains a mystery to this very day."

 _O, I am death and none can tell,_  
 _If I open the door to heaven or hell._

"Foul play?" asked Marty.

"Not officially." The officer answered. "There aren't any recorded individuals permanently residing on Mount Washington who can be considered."

"And from what we've heard there still hasn't been any updates in the case."

"Unfortunately no." said Annie. "The investigation was never officially closed and we're still asking people to keep their eyes open and report anything that can be of any help to us, but with each passing month, we are losing any hope that we ever find out what happened to the girls."

"Something about that mountain seems to breed tragedy." Marty said ruefully. "Hannah and Beth were not the only ones to disappear up there."

"That's right, Marty." Annie replied, with the same tone. "The Washington twins were the first ones to be reported missing in the past one year on the mountain, but unfortunately not the last."

This caught Sam by surprise. She hasn't heard about any disappearances on the mountain. Granted, she tried to avoid any news about this place. She only asked Josh about news on Hannah and Beth once in a while. Always receiving the same answer.

"Two months after the twins were reported missing, a married couple on vacation disappeared not far from the Washington Lodge. Two months after that, a hunter vanished without a trace. We found his journal in which he made several mentions about a pack of wolves that has been tracking him since he arrived on the mountain, but we learned nothing about what happened to him."

"Wolves?" Marty interrupted. "Is it possible that these wolves are responsible for these disappearances?"

"Unlikely." Annie answered. "True, there have been unusually much wolf activity on the mountain lately, but these animals would definitely leave traces if they would be responsible."

 _No wealth, no land, no silver, no gold,_  
 _Nothing satisfies me but your soul._

"And the list still doesn't end there. In the past year, that mountain has earned the nickname, "The Mountain of the Lost"."

"Yes, Marty. The Blackwood rangers and the police are working hard to uncover the mystery of the mountain, but so far, their efforts were in vain."

"Yet people are still visiting the mountain. Aren't the police restricting them?"

"Unfortunatley without knowing what is going on up there, we cannot make any restrictions to the area. All we can do is warn the people who are still willing to visit Blackwood Pines to be extremely careful. Because there is something dangerous up there."

 _O, death, I come to take the soul,_  
 _Leave the body and leave it cold._

"Thank you for yout time today, officer." Marty ended the interview. Sam listened to this in shock. People were disappearing on the mountain? The same mountain the she and her friends spent so much time on for so many years? Did Josh know about this? If he did, then why did he arrange another winter getaway? However, she would have to put her thoughts on hold, because the bus has arrived at Blackwood Pines.

 _O, death, o, death,_  
 _Won't you spare me over till another year?_


	2. Chapter 1: The gathering

**Chapter 1: The gathering**

Sam was very reluctant as she stepped down from the stairs of the bus. If she wanted to be brutally honest with herself, she really didn't want to come back after last year's events. But she knew that this could finally be a chance for her to face the past and try to move on. That was part of the reason she decided to come. The other part was Josh. After what happened a year ago, she felt like she had taken his sister's place as the boy's anchor to reality. The two of them have gotten really close in the past year. What kind of a friend would she be if she hadn't shown up when he was counting on her.

But still, staring up at the wooden sign in front of the road that lead up to the cable car station as she had last year when she went up there made her feel really uncomfortable. However, she was determined to go through with this. Both for herself and for Josh. With a sigh, she passed the sign and began her way up the road.

As she walked through the trees, she unwittingly started remembering how many times she had taken this path with Hannah and Beth before. Given how she was Hannah's best friend, she often went with them when they had their getaways at the Washington Lodge with their friends. Going without them felt wrong. It made Sam feel empty and alone. After Josh, she felt like she was the most affected of the group by the twins' tragedy.

Her thoughts however were interrupted by the sound of the snow crackling under a pair of boots in the distance. Sam stopped in her tracks and quickly turned around, but saw no one.

"Uh... Hello?" she asked uncertainly. She knew the others were on their way up to the The lodge as well, but if it was one of them, then why were they hiding? She swore to God, if it was any of them trying to prank her, she would make sure they'd leave a good amount of their teeth up the mountain. She had enough of pranks for a lifetime.

The sound of the steps around her didn't stop, but it was getting more and more quiet, which meant that whoever, or whatever it was was walking away and not following her.

Taking another look around, she turned around and continued her way up the road. Soon, she saw the good old gate that lead up to the station. But as she got closer to it, she saw that there was something on it. It was a piece of paper attached to the gate by duct tape. Sam took it in her hand to take a closer look at it.

 _'The gate's busted. Climb over. Chris.'_ it read.

Oh, you gotta be kidding me. Sam sighed in frustration. Well, it's not like she had any other choice. She walked over to the brick wall and started to climb it. With a few well-timed jumps, she quickly reached the top and dropped down on the other side, before continuing her way.

As she went on, the road was getting more and more familiar. She happily acknowledged that the station was close now. But her joy was short lived as she heard a crack coming from the bushes on her left. Sam stopped and stared into the direction of the noise, startled. At first, she didn't see anything, but soon she saw a figure emerging from the bushes. Sam backed away from it as it became visible that the figure was a wolf.

"Oh, crap." the girl muttered. That's definitely not how she wanted this weekend to start. Wolves usually moved in packs, especially in the winter, so where there was one, others shouldn't be far behind. The predator stopped at a good two meters away from her, but that didn't do anything to calm Sam down. Their eyes met and their gazes didn't leave each other for a few seconds. These seconds were pretty intense for Sam. She wasn't sure wether to stay still and wait and hope for it to leave or start running. The cable car station was close by now. But the animal didn't seem to have any intention to attack her. It just stood there and stared at her for a few more seconds, then it suddenly turned away from her and disappeared between the trees.

Sam would have sighed in relief, if it wasn't for the weirdness of the situation. She wasn't a zoologist, but she never heard about wolves behaving like that. Then she remembered the radio broadcast she listened to a few minutes earlier saying how a hunter disappeared in the mountains and how he wrote about a pack of wolves trailing him. That made her question wether should she proceed with this trip or not, but it would be stupid to turn back now. There wouldn't be another bus to take her back for quite a while and meeting up with the others might be safer than heading back alone. With a sigh, she hung her head in defeat.

 _'Boy, what the fuck did I get myself into?'_ she thought.

With that, she continued her way to the station, which came into view very soon, much to Sam's relief. A relief that would have been bigger if she saw any of her friends around. But as she walked closer to the building, all she saw was a backpack on the bench, which she recognized as Chris'. But where was he?

"Chris?" Sam called. "Are you here?" No response. "Your bag is here, but where are you?" she mused to herself as she looked around. "You're not in the bag, are you?" she looked back at the bag and saw Chris' phone sticking out of a pocket left slightly open. Sam frowned in confusion. Why would Chris leave his phone like this. Granted, there were not many people who can steal it around here, but still. As she leaned closer, she saw the phone's screen lit, stating Chris had an incoming message. Sam was tempted to take a closer look, but she quickly dismissed the idea.

"I shouldn't be poking around Chris' stuff." she said as she pulled the zipper all the way down, closing the bag. Immediatley after, she heard someone behind her.

"Hey, Sam." Sam turned around and came face to face with Chris Hartley, Josh's best friend. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." he chuckled. Sam calmed down and sighed.

"Hey, Chris. Where were you? Taking a leak in the woods?" she asked teasingly.

"Nope. Just decided to test you're respect of privacy." he smiled cheekily. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"So, you left you're bag like that to see if I would disrespect your privacy by checking out your phone?" she asked dryly. Chris nodded.

"Yes. But, don't worry. You passed!" he said as he smacked her shoulder cheerfully. Sam shook her head, but couldn't hide a smile on her face. Chris was always the funny guy. Yet ironically, he was one of the few who didn't take part in the prank on Hannah, besides Beth, Josh and Sam herself. Not that he could anyway, since he and Josh spent that night passed out from drinking too much. But Sam had a feeling that even if he wasn't, he wouldn't do something like that. He and Josh were best friends since they were kids and he probably wouldn't humiliate his best friend's sister.

"Anyway, I wanna show you something awesome." he said as he put his bag back on his back. "Come with me." Sam followed the boy and the two walked behind the cable car station. After they turned the corner, Sam stopped as she noticed something on the wall. As she took a closer look at it, she noticed it was a wanted poster, or more like the lower half of it. The other half, that had the wanted person's picture on it was ripped off. It looked as if someone tore it off so people won't see the photo of the guy. It was pretty creepy to imagine. She read the lower half which had the guy's datas written on it.

 _WANTED MILGRAM, VICTOR_

 _Sex: Male Height: 6"2" (1.88m)_

 _Last known address: Blackwood Pines_

 _Last seen: 03/16/1998_

"Sweet." Chris said suddenly, making her jump a little. He also noticed the poster. "You think we're gonna get a visit from America's most wanted?" he asked on a tone that Sam thought was almost hopeful.

"I'd rather not." Sam deadpanned.

"You're no fun, Sammy." Chris laughed, causing the girl to roll her eyes. "Come on."

They continued their way and when they got there, Sam saw a bunch of barrels, bottles, cans and hung up bags were set up behind the building. Sam got confused.

"This is whst you wanted me to see?" she asked. Chris shook his head with a smile.

"No." he said, then turned around and picked up a shotgun from a wooden counter. "This is what I wanted you to see." he declared as he stroke a pose with the weapon. Sam however still didn't look impressed.

"Nice." she commented without a single hint of amusement in her voice. This didn't bother Chris who turned towards the targets on the field and started shooting them one by one. "What is a shooting range doing next to a ski lodge anyway?" Sam asked.

"Haven't you ever met Josh's dad?" Chris asked. "Guy thinks he's Grizzly Adams." he replied before taking another shot at a hanged sack. "Oh, yeah. You're ass just got sacked." Chris exclaimed joyfully.

"Big deal." Sam snarked. "Anyone can hit a non moving target at this range." Chris smiled.

"Well, that sounded like a challenge." he mused as he started looking for a moving target. When the bushes started moving, he smiled and raised the shotgun, ready to shoot, but his confidence sank when he saw that the emerging creature was not a squirrel or a bird, but a wolf.

While Chris was shocked, Sam was downright frightened. Was this the same wolf from before? Was it following her? It seemed to be the case as it was just staring at them without an intention to move. It started to make them feel very uncomfortable.

"Chris, I think we should leave now." Sam said nervously. Chris nodded, without taking his eyes off the animal.

"Yeah. I think you're right." he said as he set the gun down on the counter and followed Sam who already walked away. The wolf didn't follow them. After they left, it walked back to the woods.

"Well, that was creepy." Chris remarked as the two entered the station's door.

"Tell me about it." Sam muttered. She knew it all too well having already experienced it twice. "Let's just call the cable car and head up. I want to get to the lodge as quickly as I can."

"Ooh. Are you scared already, Sammy?" Chris teased, as he walked to the control panel to call down the cable car.

"N-no. I just... don't want them to find our frozen bodies up here next week." Sam tried to deny, but her tone betrayed her. Creepy wolves following her and wanted fugutives was not how he planned this weekend to start. And as she wondered what the rest of it might hold for her, well, for the first time in her life she was wishing it was Monday already.

* * *

"Ah! Finally! We're here!" exclaimed rather frustrated Emily Davis as she and her new boyfriend, Matthew Taylor finally neared the Washington Lodge.

"Don't know what you're complaining about, Em." Matt called up to her, as he was several steps behind her. "I'm the one carrying all your stuff." he complained. Emily sighed and turned around to face him.

"Matt, how many times have I told you this before? I'm a lady. Ladies, don't carry heavy bags up mountains. That is their gentlemen's job." she explained, as if she was talking to a kid. Matt rolled his eyes and muttered a quiet 'whatever' before carrying on. A few seconds later, the couple arrived to a small gate. Emily stopped and folded her arms. Matt stopped behind her and raised an eyebrow.

"What now?" he asked in confusion and slight irritation.

"The gate." Emily said, confusing Matt even more.

"What about it?" Matt asked. Emily groaned in frustration.

"Matt, we just went over this." she whined, then pointed to herself. "Lady." then pointed at Matt. "Gentleman." then at the gate. "Gate." Matt finally got it.

"Oh, ok." he said as he opened the door for his girlfriend.

"Thank you." Emily said as she walked in. Matt followed her.

"Not even a peck for this?" Matt complained, causimg Emily tp smirk.

"Maybd I'd consider it, if I didn't have to remind you of it." she teased.

"Aw, come on!" Matt whined. Emily chuckled and decided to throw him a bone.

"Oh, don't be sad, Matthew. When we get to the lodge, I'll reward you for all your hard efforts." she told him on a sweet voice. Before Matt could even comprehend what she just said, a figure jumped in front of them, out of the bushes.

"BOO!" the figure shouted, scaring the couple which they showed with loud screams. However, that passed when they noticed who stood in front of them. Michael Munroe, Emily's ex-boyfriend.

"Michael!" Emily exclaimed, not at all amused by Mike's antics. And seeing as he just killed the romantic atmosphere, neither was Matt.

"Oh, you guys should have seen your faces!" Mike laughed. "They were rich!"

"For fuck's sake, Mike! We were having a moment!" Matt complained. Mike didn't seem bothered by that.

"Oh, come on, guys! We are up here in these mountains, all by ourselves, it's dark and creepy around here. Shouldn't we get into the mood?" he tried to lighten them up, but clearly, he wasn't succeeding.

"This is not the mood we would like to get into." Emily said. Mike just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I'll go back to the cable car to meet Jess. Try not to suck each other's faces off until you reach the lodge." he said as he walked past them.

"Screw you." Emily called after him. Matt watched them in annoyance. He knew it was inevitable for them to clash on this trip. They weren't exactly on the best terms since they broke up. And when they'll see Jessica, things will really get ugly. She and Emily used to be best friends until she got togehter with Mike. Ever since then, the two couldn't last two minutes in same room without jumping at each other's throats. Matt hoped that spending the weekend with them up here wouldn't ruin his good time with Emily, but niw he had to realize that those hopes have been foolish.

"Hey." he said to Emily, causing her to turn to him. "Don't get worked up over him. Let's just enjoy this weekend." he tried to brighten the mood. He then started walking towards the lodge, but was stopped when Emily spoke.

"Uh... Actually... I think I'm gonna head back to the cable car too."

Matt was shocked "What?"

"I just remembered, I need to talk to Sam. It's really important." said Emily. "Would you please take my bags up there?"

"Can't it wait?" Matt whined.

"Sorry, Matt. It can't. Would you be a sweetheart and take my bags up?" she asked him. Matt sighed. He knew that arguing with Emily would never end in his favor.

"Sure. I mean. I carried them all the way up here and I was going to carry them all the way to the lodge too, so, what's the difference." Emily smiled.

"Thanks, sweetie." she said as she blew him a kiss and turned to follow Mike. With a defeated sigh, Matt continued to walk to the lodge.

* * *

"Poor Matt. Emily keeps him working and she never shows any appretiation." muttered Ashley Brown as she watched the scene unfold with a telescope from the lodge. "But this is among the risks of dating Emily Davis." she said as she continued to look around. And her search for some interesting sights was not in vain. "Well, what is that?" Through the the telescope, she caught a glimpse of Mike and Emily, only the two were not heading towards the cable car station. The two stayed behind while Matt left and now they were hugging like they were still together.

"Are you serious?" Ashley growled, her tone going from monotonous to angry. Ever since the disappearance of the twins, Ashley had been both ashamed and disgusted with herself for her role in it. She could never forgive herself and she was pretty depressed most of the time. The only emotion she ever showed was anger. After the prank, Ashley grew to hate immoral acts and whenever she could, she always intervened when she saw one happening in front of her. Maybe it was her way making amends with herself. She didn't know if that was true, but she liked that theory.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Ashley yelled. "He dumped you for your best friend and you're with Matt now! What the fuck are you doing hugging Mike like that?!" At that point, Ashley was boiling mad. She stepped away from the telescope and went to confront Mike and Emily, fully intended to chew them out for what they were doing right now, but as she walked down the stairs and turned around the corner, she bumped into Matt, causing her to drop Emily's bags.

"Oh, shit." Ashley cursed." Sorry, Matt. I should have been watching where I'm going." she said as she went to help Matt pick up the bags.

"It's alright, Ash." Matt reassured her as he picked up the other bag. "Where were you going? You bumped into me with such a force that you must have been off to somewhere in a hurry." Ashley was about to reply, before Matt beat her to it. "Oh, I get it. You were seeing something juicy with that telescope and you wanted to check it out." Well, he wasn't far from the truth.

"Uh... Yeah. Yeah, that's one way of putting it." Ashley said, her tone back to monotonous.

"Cool, let me see." Matt said as he walked past her and went up to the telescope. No doubt, he immediately found what Ashley was looking at and just as she predicted, he wasn't happy.

"Son of a bitch." he growled as he saw his girlfriend hugging with her ex. "Are you kidding me?" Ashley wanted to feel bad for him, but she have grown to deeply resent her friends who took part in the prank. She just stood there and couldn't feel anything, except anger towards Mike and Emily, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't be sorry.

"My thoughts exactly." Ashley told him without any emotion in her voice.

Matt couldn't believe his eyes. After Mike cheated on her with her best friend, Emily liked him? He angrily slammed at the telescope and walked away.

'Well, this weekend is off to a great start.' Ash thought. 'Thanks a lot, Em.' but then she remembered that she shouldn't be surprised. After all, her group of friends has an excellent track record of ruining things.

* * *

Back at the cable car station, Jessica Riley, Mike's current girlfriend was sitting at a bench, waiting for the others to arrived She was staring to get bored though since it has been a while since Matt and Emily arrived. Josh, Mike and Ashley were already at the lodge, so now only Sam and Chris were missing. Jess would appretiate it if they would hurry the fuck up, since the cold was staring to get to her. As if on cue, she heard banging on the exit of the station.

"Hello! Anybody there?" it was Sam's voice.

"Finally." Jess groaned as she stood up to walk to the door. "Sam, please tell me Chris is with you."

"I'm here!" Chris confirmed. "Now would you pretty please let us out of here, Jess?" Jess proceeded to do so and the two last members of the group walked out. "Oh, thanks! Ten more minutes in there and I would have chew my leg off."

"Ow. Thanks for the images, Chris." Jess rolled her eyes.

"Jess, are the others all here?" Sam asked. The other blonde girl nodded.

"Yes. You two are the last ones to arrive. I was wandering when you'd finally make it." shd complained. "Now, can we please head to the... Hey!" she yelled as Chris yanked something out of her hand. It was a note and judging on the look on Chris' face when he read it, Sam was sure there was something juicy on it.

"Oh, check it out, Sammy. Looks like someone is crushing on our friend, Michael Munroe." he teased as he waved the note in front of Jess.

"Chris, don't be a jerk." Sam scolded, while Jess took the paper back from him.

"For your information, Mike and Emily are split. We're togehter." Jess told him.

"Ooh. Drama!" Chris squealed.

"Not exactly." Jess deadpanned. "It's a pretty clear cut actually. Em's out, I'm in."

"You really are something, Chris." said Sam with her hands on her hips. "You test me on my respect of privacy while you go over other's romantic notes?"

"Okay, okay. You're right." Chris chuckled. "I'm sorry, Jess. Now how about we head up to the lodge at last while you tell us all about your relationship with Mike? Don't leave out any details."

"Don't count on it." Jess said with a smirk as she left into the direction of the lodge with ther two friends following.

* * *

Blackwood Sanatorium. The ruins of the old, abandoned mental institution on Blackwood Mountain were still rotting up there and since it wasn't bothering anybody, it wasn't likely that this would change in the future.

The old sanatorium was shut down along with the mines after people discovered that the owners were trying to cover up a cave in that killed most of the workers. Eventually, everyone lost interest to come here after thst, so there was no point in operating it further. Everyone left, but the building stayed. Derelict and empty. At least for the most part.

Inside the building, a figure wearing a full body cloak and rubber boots walked into the former morgue room followed by two wolves. The cloaked person walked up to the coolers where they used to store the bodies and stopped in front of them. They now used these coolers for a different purpose. To preserve the flesh. The flesh to quench their hunger that endlessly haunted them. And it was returning and getting stronger than ever.

No one has come up to the mountain in a while. So there wasn't a chance for them to feast in quite some time. But that has changed now. There were people visiting the moutnain once more. Eight people have come to reside at the Washington Lodge and the coolers would fill soon. But they probably wouldn't stay for long so there was no time to lose. This opportunity cannot go to waste. The flesh would be enough to last a whole year.

The cloaked person walked up to the only closed cooler and opened it up to pull out a skeleton that has been stripped of all flesh. Only bones have remained. They took the skull off and started to caress it. Another innocent person who had to die so their hunger could be satisfied. This filled them with several feelings: sadness, grief, self-loathing. What have they become? What kind of human being does this, hutning innocent people to quench a sick hunger for human flesh. But these feelings were quickly pushed aside. This person has long since lost the right to be referred to as a human being by devouring human flesh. So there was no point in dwelling on these things.

They put the skull down and proceeded to rip out two ribs from the skeletal remains, which were then thrown to the wolves, who instantly started feasting on them. They were fortunate. They didn't have to wait until they hunted down one of their own to eat. The hunger was getting more intense and torturing by every passing second, which quickly reminded them of the task at hand. Time to hunt.


	3. Chapter 2: The hunt begins

**Chapter 2: The hunt begins**

Chris and Sam thought that once the Washington Lodge comes into their sight, they will feel relief that they finally get away from the cold, into the warm, cozy living room they spent so much winter evening in with their friends before. And partly, they did. But on the other part, they also felt the memories coming back to them. Not the pleasant ones, but the ones from last year.

Despite not having any part of it, Chris was just as shaken by what happened to Hannah and Beth as everyone else. He knew both of them very well and knew that they were kindhearted and sweet girls. He couldn't imagine why anyone would want to hurt them as the others did that night. And when he was told why, it did not make it any better.

But Chris couldn't help but feel even worse for his best friend, Josh. He knew how much his sisters meant to him and he dreaded to think about how this tragedy would would affect him. He vowed that he will be there for him after what happened to Hannah and Beth, and with the support from him and Sam, he was glad to see his best friend doing fine. Well, as well as someone could do after such a tragic loss.

Chris turned to Sam to see how she was doing. And judging from the expression on her face, the memories were getting to her as well. He then turned to Jessica to see how she was doing. She noticed this and smiled back at him. Chris couldn't help but feel a slight resentment towards the girl rise in his chest. He knew she didn't mean any harm to Hannah, but the fact that she was part of the prank that caused her to run away and disappear and now that she came back to where that happened and was smiling without a care in the world seemed like she didn't even care.

The three of them made their way up to the stairs that lead up to the entrance of the lodge where Josh, Ashley and Matt were waiting.

"Hey, everyone!" Chris greeted them. Josh immediately went to greet his best friend.

"Hey, bro!" He greeted as he embraced Chris. "How do you do?"

"I should be the one asking you that." Chris said, his voice full of concern. "How are you holding up? It can't be easy to you coming back here after... you know, last year..."

"Hey, Chris, man, not in front of the others!" Josh laughed, trying to brush it off, but Chris could see that he was not as collected as he tried to look. Josh then turned to Sam. "Hey, Sammy. Thanks for coming. It really helps that both you and Chris are here." Sam smiled.

"It's fine. What are friends are for?" As the two of them engaged in further conversations, Chris decided to give them some space and turned to Ash.

"Hey, Ashley. It's good to see you again." He told her with a smile.

"Yeah. You too." Ash replied with much less enthusiasm than the boy expected. Chris knew that Ashley had become very depressed after what happened to the twins. Everyone just assumed that she couldn't get over her guilt and shame. He also noticed that she was trying her best to avoid making eye contact with Josh, or even looking at him for that matter. It broke Chris' heart. He knew Ashley was just as much at fault for what happened then the others, but that didn't mean that she had to take all of the guilt.

"What's wrong?" Chris asked with a raised eyebrow. Ash just kept staring into the distance.

"It's just... being back here... after what happened..." she tried to put together an acceptable reply. "... it makes me think about all the things we've done. And what we could have done different." She finished remorsefully. Chris noticed her solemn tone and knelt down next to her.

"Hey, I know you're having a hard time about it. But beating yourself up over it won't make it better." he said as he put his hand on her shoulder. "What happened to Hannah and Beth..." he wanted to say 'it wasn't your fault, but honestly, that wouldn't feel right. He kept thinking for a while until he came up with something more appropriate. ... "it's in the past. We have to move on." he told her. But Ash's expression didn't change.

"Easy for you to say. You had nothing to do with it." she said as she turned him. Chris realized that he couldn't say anything at the moment that would make her feel better, so he stood up with a sigh.

"Hey, guys. Where's Mike?" asked Jess, noticing the absence of her boyfriend.

"I think I saw him down by those rocks." Matt replied, pointing at the place where he saw Mike and Emily. Chris noticed that his tone was rather upset.

"Hey, man, is everything okay?" he asked.

"It's just... some people. You think, you know them." Matt replied coldly. Chris thought it would be better if he didn't push it. After Jess left to find Mike, Josh walked up to Chris.

"Hey, bro. I need some help." he said. "You're probably wondering why we're all sitting out here instead of warming up inside next to the fireplace."

"Well... yes." replied Chris, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, feeling slightly embarrassed that this only crossed his mind now.

"Well, the damn cold froze the lock so we can't open it from the outside. Someone should do it from the inside. Someone can get it from the basement window, but it's a two person job.!" his suggestion made Chris raise a brow.

"You... want us to break in?" he asked, puzzled.

"Well, I don't think it counts as breaking in if I own the place." Josh said. Realizing that his freind was right, the two left the main door of the lodge and walked to the basement.

"So, how are things going with Ashley?" Josh asked out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?" Chris asked a little nervously, knowing exactly, where his friend was going.

"Oh, come on! I know you had the hots for her since you met her. So, how's it going?" he asked teasingly. Chris couldn't answer right away. It was true that he had a crush on Ashley for a long time, but seeing as how she was acting tonight, he was more concerned about her well-being than a potential relationship with her. However, she knew that Josh was not the person he should discuss this with. When it came Ash and him, Josh couldn't be serious to save his life. So he decided to change topic.

"You know, I think you should be concerned about Sam." he retorted with the same teasing smile, Josh always gave him.

"Don't you change the subject!" Josh said, his expression unchanged.

"Why not? After all, you keep pestering me about Ashley all the time." Chris teased, causing Josh to laugh.

"Ok, let's make a deal: I'll shut up about Ash and you'll shut up about Sam." Chris would have liked to punch the air in triumph. Finally he had something to counter Josh's teasing with. The two friends eventually reached the basement window and Josh helped Chris to reach it and crawl through. Chris couldn't see anything in the dark, so Josh tossed him a lighter.

"Ok, so what do we do about the door?" Chris asked. Josh pondered for a few moments, Chris got inside, but he didn't think about how to open the door. A wide grin spread across his face as he had an idea.

"Chris, I just got a sick idea. I have a can of deodorant up in the bathroom closet." Chris was confused.

"And?.."

"A can of deodorant, you have a lighter. Do the math." Said Josh. Chris eventually put two and two together.

"Oh, I get it. A homemade flamethrower."

"Yup. Now get on with it before the others get their butts frozen in." Said Josh before leaving to go back to the front door. Chris looked around to find an exit out of the basement, which he found after a few seconds of looking and headed inside the lodge.

On his way inside, he came across a portrait of the entire Washington family. All of them stood together, smiling happily. Chris had mixed feelings at seeing the portrait. On one hand, it was a nice reminder of Hannah and Beth. On the other hand, seeing them like this after a year of their disappearance was very painful for him. Not only that, but Josh looked happier on the portrait than he saw him in the past year.

With memories and emotions ragin in him like a hurricane, Chris turned away from the portrait, unable to look at it any longer, but before he continued his way to the inside of the lodge however, he noticed a small piece of paper on a table under the portrait. But there was something off about it. It had six holes in it and an X was carved into it. His curiosity raised, Chris picked it up to examine it further. He turned it over and saw that it was actually a photo of Hannah, Sam, Mike and Emily standing together, ready to leave for the High School prom night. It would have been another nice reminder of the good times, if not for a small unsettling detail: Hannah was crossed out with the X carved into it and the others's eyes were poked out.

Chris raised an eyebrow. What was this about? He put the photo in his pocket with the intention of questioning Josh about it later and continued his way to find the bathroom.

* * *

Outside, the mood of the others was getting worse by the second.

"Josh, how much longer do we have to wait?" Sam complained, which was below her usually, but the cold was really getting to her.

"Easy, Sammy." Josh reassured her. "I told Chris to get it open and my bro never failed me before." That did little to reassure Sam. They waited for a few more minutes and Sam was about to break down the door when they heards something from inside. The group outside rolled their eyes in almost perfect unison as they realized Chris' voice, making scary noises to spook them and not doing a very good job at it.

"Very funny, Chris!" Sam groaned in irritation. "Now get this door open. Our butts are freezing down out here." Chris chuckled and used the deodorant can and lighter to melt the ice from the lock and opened the door.

"Welcome to paradise!" He exclaimed as the others came in. After spending so much time in the cold out there, they really felt like they were there.

"Josh, light up the fireplace, will you?" Ash told him. "It's still freezing in here."

"On it." Josh said as he got to it.

"Personally, I think I'd prefer a hot bath to warm up." Announced Sam. "See you guys later!" She said as she headed upstairs. She headed straight to the bathroom where she took off her cap and put it on a chair nearby. She then started to fill the tub, but was frustrated when she felt that there was no hot water.

"Oh, great!" She groaned and left to find Josh. As she made her way to the stairs leading down to the living room however, she noticed that the door to Hannah's room was open. This confused her. Why would Josh leave the door to her disappeared sister's room wide open? Her curiosity got the better of her and she headed that way instead of downstairs.

She slowly approached the room, not sure if she wanted to this. Josh probably wouldn't be very happy if he caught her there. But as she entered, her fear disappeared. The room brought back so many precious memories of her best friend that she didn't care anymore. Hannah's room was filled with girlish stuff like stuffed animals, posters from girlish magazines and that old music box on her desk. But the memories eventually ended in a painful reminder that Hannah is gone and chances are that she won't come back.

This was too much for her bear and she turned to leave, when she noticed something curious. She turned to look at Hannah's bed and saw that the pillow and the quilt have been removed from the duvet covers. But that wasn't the strange part. The strange part was that the covers were cut open. As if the person who removed them had no time or patience to open them properly and just slashed them open with something sharp.

And if that wasn't unsettling enough, Sam noticed something else. She raised her head to see that Hannah's closet was also wide open and there was a thrash can next to it's door. Sam slowly walked up to it and saw that there were several pieces of paper in the can and they were all burnt. Sam was starting to freak out now. What the hell was this?

She reached into the can and slowly touched one of the papers to see if it wasn't hot. After she made sure it wasn't, she picked it up to get a closer look at it. As she narrowed her eyes, she could make out some words about 'invitation', a 'party' and 'costume'. Sam's eyes widened. This was the invitation she sent to Hannah to her Halloween party last year. What was this doing here? She looked up and saw that every piece of paper that Hannah placed on her closet door were gone, including the photos of them and the others and that 'Soulmate' test Hannah filled out from that magazine to see if she had any chance with Mike.

"What the fuck?" Sam muttered in shock as she backed away from the door and left the room. She had to tell Josh about this. She headed towards the stairs, but turned back to take one last look at the room. Soms fucked up shit was going on here.

Suddenly, Sam felt a hand touching her shoulder. Sam jumped and almost screamed as she turned around to see Josh standing in front of her. "Sorry." He said. "Didn't mean to scare you." He then looked to see where was Sam coming from. "Pondering on old days?" He asked, smiling down at her. Sam took a moment to relax.

"Josh... I have to..." she started but, Josh cut her off.

"Look, sorry to interrupt, but I need your help down there." This caused Sam to forget what she was about to say.

"What happened?" She asked on a concerned tone. Josh looked down for a few moments, then sighed.

"It's Emily and Jess. They're at it again." Sam sighed. Ever since Mike dumped Emily for Jess, those two couldn't spend two minutes in the same room without starting a war.

"Let's go." She said as they headed downstairs. As they neared the living room, they heard the shouting and arguing of the two girls. It was the same deal as usual: Emily calling Jess a slut and bostaing about her much better academical grades and Jess countering by insulting Emily's appearance, calling her ugly, flat and thin. It was pretty sad considering that they used to be best friends. It was a good thing that the others were there as well so they could intervene if things got out of hand.

"What the hell are you guys doing?!" Sam shouted as she entered the room.

"This bitch just came in and started insulting me right away!" Jess yelled. "I'm just putting her in her place!"

"Oh, yeah!" Emily snorted. "Like the others were interested to see you shoving your tongue down on Mike's throat!" Emily yelled back. "I just said what they were all thinking!"

"That's enough! Both of you!" Sam shouted at them, so loud that the entire room got silent and stared at her in shock. "This isn't what we came back for! In case you forgot, we came back to remember Hannah and Beth and not to hear you waging war over Mike!" Mike was noticeably pleased by this possible situation. "So if you two wanna be obnoxious bitches, do it another time, because I'm sure as hell not putting up with it this weekend!" The room was silent for a few more seconds. The others were still in shock at Sam's outburst. They knew Hannah meant much to her and even Emily and Jess seemingly got it through their thick skulls that it wasn't a good idea to push her in the time of remembering hear. With that the two just shot a final, venomous glare at each other and walked back to their respective boyfriends.

"Thanks, Sammy." Josh said, smiling gratefully. "You know, wherever my sisters are, I'm sure that what you just said means a lot to them." Sam smiled back at him. Their moment was interrupted when Matt walked up to them.

"Hey, Josh." He said as the Washington boy turned to him. "I'm really sorry about this, man. I should have stopped Em before things got out of hand." he apologized.

"It's okay, Matt. It's not your fault." Josh told him. "But I do think that it would be the best if we'd separate those two until they calm down." He said as he walked to the fireplace and picked up a key and a flashlight from above it. "I trust that you do know the route to the cabin." He said and Matt nodded. He wasn't happy that Josh was kicking them out, but he could completely understand him.

"Wait a minute." Emily butted in, as she overheard the conversation. "You're kicking us out?"

"Well, it was you who provoked Jess in the first place, Em." Josh reasoned. "I think you should spent this night apart from each other." He hoped that Emily would understand, but as he predicted, she was far from understanding.

"So you're kicking us out for the night! Great!" she fumed. "You know what? Fine! Hope you can sleep through the sounds of those two fucking all night! Come on, Matt." She said before storming out. Matt looked after her for a while before shaking his head and looking back at Josh apologetically.

"Sorry about that too."

"You're gonna need these!" Josh said as he handed the key of the cabin and the flashlight to him. "There's a shed next to the gate of the road that leads to the cabin. You'll have to turn on the generator inside to turn on the lamps that will light the way." He explained.

"Got it. Thanks." He said as he went after his girlfriend. The others watched him go, before Sam spoke up.

"Hey, Josh. I was about to take a bath, but there's no hot water." She said.

"The boiler must be off." Josh guessed. "We'll have to go down to the basement and kick it in." He said as he grabbed another flashlight and headed towards the basement with Sam following.

* * *

"Can you believe it?!" Raged Emily to her boyfriend. "He kicked us out because of that slut!"

"You know, he had a point there." Said Matt. "You did start the argument without provocation."

"Whatever! Just turn on that damn thing already so we can get there sooner!" She ordered, causing Matt to roll his eyes. He tried to be a caring, understanding boyfriend, but Emily could really get under his skin sometimes. The pair were next to the shed, and as always, Emily made Matt do all the hard work, saying that kicking in a generator was a 'manly work' and therefore the man should deal with it. As Matt went in to do it, Emily stayed outside. It was still freezing out there and now she had to deal with it again after finally getting inside the lodge. She'll just have to add it to the list of things she hates Jessica for. After thirty seconds of standing in one place and freezing, she genuinely felt like she was gonna freeze to death of she didn't get to the cabin soon. She was sure the little bitch would love that.

"Hey, are you done yet? I'm freezing to the ground out here!" She yelled to Matt. As if on cue, the lights came on and the way to the cabin was now lightened.

"Does this answer your question?" Came the reply.

"Nice job! Now let's get moving, I want to get to the cabin before I turn to an ice statue!" The brief joy that Matt felt at getting a compliment from Emily was quickly replaced by irritation as she immediately went back to her bossy attitude. He then stood up and walked out to join his girlfriend. What he failed to notice however, was a hooded figure watching him from the shed's window.


	4. Chapter 3: Signs

**Chapter 3: Signs**

The cloaked figure observed the couple as they walked away from the shed and walked further into the distance. This was almost too fortunate to believe. It was like fate itself wanted this hunt to succeed. These two willingly left the group so early and made themselves easy targets. Still, they also have to be separated. The two of them together could fight off an attacker off with ease. Even if they managed to capture one of them, the other could escape and warn the others. And they couldn't know about them, not yet.

The two were talking about the Washington guest cabin. If that was their destination, they had already known the perfect spot for an ambush. They just hoped they'd get there quickly. It has already been a week since the last bit of flesh was taken from the latest victim's bones. With the plan already finished in their head, they left for the place where the couple could be the most easily separated. They have come to know this mountain perfectly with every twist and turn. They would get there a lot sooner than their prey.

* * *

Emily was still fuming about the fact that Josh kicked her and Matt out of the lodge to spend the night in some godforsaken cabin. But she was even madder that Jessica had the last laugh again. Sure, she was the one who started the argument unprovoked, but she couldn't help it. Jess had brought out the worst in her.

She and Mike have been together for a while now and they had a great relationship, - or at least Emily thought so, - when one day, out of the blue, Mike just dumped her without even telling her why. The next day, she saw him walking hand in hand with Jessica. Her supposed best friend had snatched Mike from her! She was the victim here! But at least she got some satisfaction out of knowing that Mike hasn't completely forgot about her. She just wished Jess would find out already and she could be there when that happens.

Meanwhile Matt was following his girlfriend without saying anything. Matt didn't really have any say in the way Em acted.

When they got together, he was just happy that he got to have a girlfriend like Emily, but as time went on, she started treating him with less and less respect and Matt eventually started to feel like he became a henpeck for Emily and if he wanted to be honest, it really started to annoy him. He had started trying to stand up for himself in front of her as of late, but he was afraid of Emily ending their relationship if he really upset her. But lately he started doubting if it was worth keeping it up if he felt like this around Emily. Especially after he saw her with Mike earlier. He still wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Eventually, Matt got tired of his girlfriend's angry mumbling and decided to try and get her to forget about it.

"Em, please try to relax!" Matt tried to reach for her, but his words didn't have the intended effect.

"Matt, how many times I have to tell you? Don't tell me how to handle my problem with that whore!" she snarled without even locking back at him. Matt however was not going to back down, not this time. He walked in front of Emily to make her stop.

"Look! I know what they did to you was evil. But ask yourself this: Do you really want to spend the rest of your life fuming about it?" Emily was about to beat down Matt like she had done several times before, however, she was surprised to find that what he said actually made it through her thick skull and caused her to think. Seeing her reaction, Matt continued. "If you keep this up, you'll only make yourself miserable. I'm not saying this because it bothers me how you always act about it, but because I care about you. You have to let it go, or else you will waste your whole life mulling about it and never be happy again."

Emily couldn't believe it, but her boyfriend's words actually made it to her brain and she did something that she hasn't done in a long time, she admitted that she was wrong and someone else was right. But Matt's heartfelt speech did more, they caused Emily's confident, almighty mask to crack. Oh, boy. She was going to break down and let her feelings break out.

"I know..." she said quietly, as some tears started to flow down on her cheeks. "It's just... It still hurts so much." She sobbed. Matt wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, letting her sob into his chest. The two of them stood there for a while. Matt stroked Emily's back as the girl let it all out. Once her sobs have stopped, Matt pulled out of the embrace and looked into Emily's eyes.

"I know it does. But I'm here to help you feel better. If you let me." he told her sincerely. Emily wiped away some tears and for the first time, she genuinely smiled up at Matt. "Now, let's just forget about them and enjoy our time together, otherwise this whole trip is gonna suck for both of us." Emily knew that he was right and gave him a nod, before getting out of his arms and went back to the walk to the cabin. However, she suddenly stopped, turned back to Matt and pressed a soft kiss on his lips, making the boy freeze.

"Wha... What was that for?" Matt asked bashfully.

"Thanks for the talk. I needed that." Emily whispered softly, before turning away and continued her way. Matt smiled, he felt like he and Emily were finally getting somewhere.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the lodge, Sam and Josh have just entered the basement, looking for the boiler.

"You might wanna be careful around here, Sammy." Josh warned her. "My dad is keeping some pretty dangerous stuff down here."

"Like what? Should I keep my eyes open for some beartraps lying around?" she joked.

"Well, I wouldn't rule out that possibility." Josh chuckled. "Dad is a pretty passionate hunter, but there are mostly guns down here and some of them might be still loaded, so seriously be careful."

"Loaded guns in the basement?!" Sam exclaimed in shock. "Well, I guess I shouldn't have put it past a guy who sets up a shooting range next a ski lodge." she deadpanned. Josh chuckled once again.

"Tell me about it. I told dad it was an absurd idea. But he told me it at least kept unwelcome people away." Sam stopped in her tracks as she heard that. For some reason, Josh's last sentence reminded him of the wanted poster she saw back at the cable car station.

"What kind of unwelcome people?" she asked a little nervously.

"Well, as you know this area belongs to my family. And there have been a few violations in the past years." Josh explained. "Hobos, tourists and drunken teens who were visiting the mountain. Apparently my dad thinks that having people believe that we are gun nuts and scaring these people off is the best way to deal with it." Sam was not exactly reassured by that answer, but before she could ask another question, the boiler closet came in view.

"Ok, here we are." Josh said as he reached to take something from the top of the closet, only to notice that it wasn't there. Josh froze for a moment before groaning. "Ah, damn it."

"Something wrong?" Sam asked.

"A rat or something must have knocked the key off of here." Josh answered annoyed. "Could you help me look around for it?"

"Sure." Sam shrugged. She started to check the floor around the closet for the key, but she didn't have much luck. However, when she checked next to the closet, she found something a little more interesting. A baseball bat was standing next to it. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, Josh. Your family also has a sport store?" She asked jokingly. Josh turned to her and saw what she was talking about. He walked up to her and took the bat away from her.

"No. It's just we all used to play together when we came up here for the summer." Josh told her as he rolled the bat around in his hands with a gentle smile on his face. Sam supposed he was remembering better times. It broke her heart so much, that she decided to turn away and keep searching for the key. She found a small box full of random sfuff lying next to the closet, so she decided to check there. Josh heard the sound of her rummaging through the contents of the box so he put the bat down turned to her.

"Oh, be very careful with this one." Josh warned her as he grabbed her arm and gently pulled her away. "Last I checked, my dad kept his old machete in this box. You might cut yourself." he said as Sam stood up and Josh knelt down to check the box. "Ah!" he yelled joyfully after a few seconds of searching. "Here it is!" he said as he picked up the boiler closet's key. He handed it to Sam and asked her to open the closet. Sam took it and proceeded to do so, then she stepped back and waited for Josh to stand up and turn the boiler on, but when she looked at him, he saw that the boy was still rummaging through the box.

"Uh... Josh?"

"I can't find it." he said agigatedly.

"You can't find what?" Sam asked, confused.

"My dad's machete. It was made by my great grandfather and it was one of my dad's most precious possessions. He's gonna flip if it gets lost!" he panicked.

"Hey, calm down!" Sam said, putting a hand on his shoulders. "It has to be around here somewhere."

"Dad always put into this box and it was here last year! No one has come up here since last year!" Josh told her as he stood up. "Oh, man! If he finds out about this, he'll make a new one of my bones." he said, burying his face in his palms. Sam patted him on the shoulder.

"Easy Josh. Tell you what: I'll help you look for it later if you help me kick the boiler in now." she offered. Josh let his hands down and smiled at her.

That's why I love you, Sammy." he said as he went to work. As he turned the old thing back on, Sam heard something.

"Did you hear that?" she asked. Josh turned to look at her.

"Hear what?" he asked. He looked around, but he didn't hear anything.

"It sounded like a... thump." Sam said, looking around, trying to find the source of the voice. Josh looked around some more, but eventually shrugged.

"I didn't hear anything." he said as he went back to working on the boiler. Sam however wasn't reassured. She started walking towards the corner from where she heard the noise coming from, but before he could reach it, she heard a slam behind her back, which caused her to gasp and jump. She saw Josh standing up from the closed boiler closet.

"Sorry." he said sheepishly. "The boiler's back on." Sam rolled her eyes and turned back towards the corner just when she heard it again. She stepped back and turned to Josh.

"There. You heard it now?" she asked, trying to keep her voice low. Josh raised an eyebrow, as he too looked into the direction where it came from. Sam backed away a little, while Josh let out a groan.

Argh! Some animal must have found it's way inside again. He grabbed the baseball bat he set down next to the closet and walked towards the corner. As he was about to take the turn, suddenly something jumped in front of him and knocked him off of his feet. Sam screamed and stepped back in fright when he saw the cloaked figure that stood in front of her and attacked Josh. When the figure heard her, it turned it's head towards her and raised it's hand to reach for her. Sam reacted quickly and picked up the bat Josh dropped and raised it to swing. However, as soon as she did that, the figure backed away and raised it's arm in a defensive manner.

Sam, don't! it cried in a very familiar voice, which made Sam stop in mid-air, just before it made contact with the figure's head. It's me! it said as he removed tha hood to reveal Chris. It took Sam a few moments to fully register what just happened, but when it did, she was boiling mad.

Chris, what the hell is wrong with you? Sam shouted at him. I could have broke your skull in with this thing! Chris stood up and dusted himself off, before laughing nervously.

Uh... sorry. I just found these cool movie props lying around in the basement and... do you know me as a guy who lets an opportunity like that go to waste? he tried to explain. Sam was obviously not willing to accept this as an excuse and she was considering to actually go through with beating Chris with the bat, but then Josh spoke up.

"Oh, dude! That was sick!" He said as he slapped his best friend on the shoulder. "Nicely done!" Sam was baffled.

"Wait! You knew about this?" she asked.

"I didn't." Josh answered. "But I wish I did." he laughed as he gave Chris a high five. "He's got you good." Sam was dumbstruck. Consider the reason the group came back to the mountain and what happened a year ago, she expected Josh to be slightly more disapproving of pranks. But seeing how easily he laughed it off seemed weird. _'Well, maybe that's a sign that he could finally move on.'_ she thought. To be honest, it felt good to see Josh laughing so heartily with his best friend again. It felt like he was finally on his way to become his old self again. But given that it was caused by Chris pulling a stupid joke on her, she just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." she said as she walked away from them. "I'll just hit the bathroom. That is if Mike or Jess aren't waiting for me there with another stupid stunt you have planned." she said, looking at Chris with her hands on her hips. Chris shrugged.

"Not that I know of." he told her. Sam just sighed and left the basement. Josh was about to follow her, but then he remembered something and he turned back to Chris.

"Hey, bro. If you've been messing with stuff in the basement, did you snatch my dad's old machete from that box?" he asked. Chris looked back at him in confusion.

"Machete?" He pondered. "No, I didn't find any machete down here." he said., Josh was about to say something, but then he realized that Chris was telling the truth. He knew him well enough to tell.

"OK, then. Never mind." he said as he walked away. This was still bothering him. If he didn't find it by the end of the weekend, he'll better not even go home. He'll have to sweep through every square meter of the basement to find it later. But right now, he had other matters to attend to.

* * *

"When will we get there? My legs are falling off!" Emily complained as she followed her boyfriend on the road to the cabin.

"It's been only about ten minutes since we left the lodge." Matt replied. He knew Emily was no athlete like he was, but seriously? Ten minutes on this road and she was already exhausted? "And you better brace yourself because we still have to walk for a while." Emily groaned.

"Easy for you to say." she muttered to herself as she stopped for a while and leaned on a wooden fence to catch her breath. "You don't... WHOA!" Emily screamed as the fence broke and she fell into a dark hole.

"Emily!" Matt screamed as he saw his girlfriend descend into the darkness. He rushed to the edge of the hole to see Emily a couple of feet beneath, lying on the ground. "Are you alright?!"

"As alright you'd expect after a fall like that." she replied. Matt noticed that there wasn't anything angry about Emily's reply. She expected her to snap at him with something like "What do you think, Einstein, I just fell into a cave!", but no. It was more sass rather than annoyance in her voice, like usually. Matt considered this a huge progress.

"Can you come out of there?" he yelled down to her. Emily looked around.

"No, it's too deep. But I can see a tunnel. Maybe there's another way out." she suggested.

"Good idea." Matt nodded. "I'll come down to you."

"Wait, and what of there's no other way out? You'll be trapped down here to!"

"I'll take that chance. I can't let you wander around down there by yourself." he replied, before dropping down himself. Emily wasn't sure. He felt like Matt was trying a little too hard to play hero for her, but the tunnel was very dark, so it was a good thing he came down with the flashlight.

"What is this place anyway?" she asked as they looked around.

"Looks like it's some kind of mine." Matt stated, judging from the rails and the mine carts he saw. "Josh said that there was one working on the mountain in the fifties."

"Okay, so now what?" Emily asked.

"Now we find a way out." he replied. Eventually, he noticed that the tunnel was the only path they can use, so he motioned for Emily to follow him.

"And if there's no other way out, we can join Hannah and Beth in haunting the mountain." Emily snarked.

"Hey!" Matt stopped and turned to her. "Don't you think you should talk about them with a little more respect? After all, they are..." He interrupted himself. He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Go ahead, Matt! Say it!" Emily challenged as her tone grew solemn and it may have been his eyes sparkling in the darkness, but Matt could have sworn that her eyes became watery. "Say it that they are dead and we killed them by pulling a mean spirited, half assed prank out of petty jealousy, just because Hannah happened to like the guy I was dating!"

"Emily, you don't know that!" Matt tried to console her, but there was nothing he could do about the emotional tidal wave that was about to burst out of her.

"Yes, I do, Matt!" she yelled, letting the tears free. "For crying out loud, it has been a year! Do you really think they are still alive somewhere out there? I know it's good to have faith, but you have to face reality eventually! They're dead and it's because of us!"

"Emily, I..." Matt tried to reach out for her, but she pulled away.

"No!" she sobbed. "You can console me all you want, but it won't make a difference! I'll still have to live with that every day for the rest of my life and so will you!" she turned around to keep walking, but had it not been for Matt's flashlight, that rest of her life would have been very short.

"Look out!" Matt shouted as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Emily didn't like to be handled in such a manner, but this time, she sure was glad she was, because in the light, she saw that she was half a second away from walking face first into a meat hook hanging from the ceiling.

"Jesus Christ!" she screamed as she backed away with widened eyes. "What the hell is this doing here?!" she asked after she calmed down in the boy's arms.

"Well..." Matt pondered, trying to find a logical explanation. "Josh said his dad is a passionate hunter. Maybe he set this up." This was his best guess, but he knew it was flawed.

"And just what kind of animal was he hoping to trap down here?" Emily asked, bewildered. Matt didn't seem to have an answer to that. "Okay, this place is officially giving me the creeps. Could we please move on?" Matt wholeheartedly agreed on both accounts. The pair moved on, carefully avoiding the hook. Matt will try his best to calm his girlfriend and make her forget about this experience. He would have gladly done the same, but these was one thing he couldn't forget no matter how hard he tried: in the light of his flashlight, he could have sworn that the hook was covered in blood stains.

 **AN: Well wasn't that sweet? Emily seems to be warming up to Matt after he helped her get over her grudge with Mike and Jessica. Yeah, I've decided to throw in some Emily character development, tell me what did you think of it.**

 **Next time my friends, things will finally get really interesting. But for now, a little more build-up and some more alarming signs about the threat that awaits the group. Stay tuned for more! Reviews are much appreciated.**

 **This is fanfictionmakermachine, signing off, peace!**

 **P. S. : Battling the Snowstorm will be next to be updated!**


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